Apparatuses of this type, which are also called stamping/welding machines, find a preferred use in the production of large area, three-dimensional parts such as fenders (bumpers), spoilers, body panels or the like for example, for use in the automobile industry. The object here is for example to provide the plastics part with at least one hole by stamping in a first working step. Then, in a second working step, receiving parts (adapters) for various supplementary devices are to be fitted in these holes and fixed therein by welding or bonding. The supplementary devices can for example be parking sensors, headlight cleaning systems, trailer towing devices, exhaust systems or trim strips. The holes can, depending on the case, be round blind holes or open edged break-outs with cross-sections dependent on the individual case. The fixing of the receiving parts in the holes can be effected by ultrasonic or laser welding or the like or by bonding. It is often also required to shape the stamped holes conically by milling.
On account of the two or more associated working steps it is known (e.g. DE 10 2004 018 309 A1) to provide combined stamping and welding or bonding devices. These are so constructed that the fender is placed in a receptacle arranged at a front side of the apparatus or machine and mounted on a sliding table, whereafter the sliding table is driven by a motor or the like to a stamping frame which is arranged at a rear side of the apparatus, in order then to stamp the required holes there. The sliding table is then driven back to the front side, in order to fit the receiving parts into the stamped holes, which parts have previously been fitted on to feed arbors arranged in the welding area, and then to fix them therein. A disadvantage with this is on the one hand that two separate working areas and a sliding table which can move to and fro between them are required, which demands a lot of space and expensive drives and sliding table constructions. On the other hand, it is difficult to shift large parts such as fenders or the like as a whole with such high precision that the stamped holes produced in a first work area are positioned exactly relative to the following processing tools after the displacement of the plastic parts into a second work area. A small offset of a few tenths of a millimeter can be enough to lead to optically unattractive and thus unacceptable irregularities on the outer surfaces of the workpieces.